Holes in Ozone layer over Antarctica are recovering at a steady pace. The change should not be mistaken as a result of global lockdown across the world due to COVID-19, but attributed to the long concentrated effort of nations and various bodies based on the Montreal Protocol of 1987.
Crux of the Matter
Some Ozone Relief Amidst Climate Change According to scientists, the ozone layer is healing. Results were published during the four-year assessment of the health of the ozone layer done at the United Nations. Restoration of the layer is the result of the implementation of the Montreal Protocol agreed internationally in 1987. The Montreal Protocol prohibits the production of harmful materials causing the depletion of the Ozone layer. One of the major gas causing damage to ozone is Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), which is used in refrigerators, hair sprays, air conditioners, etc. As the Ozone layer is getting restored, change sin atmospheric circulation are being observed in the region of Antarctica.
This layer is quite important to sustain life on earth, as it restricts the harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays emitted by the Sun from entering earth’s atmosphere. Research says that UV rays can cause skin diseases and cancer.
Over the last three decades, the Montreal protocol has fulfilled its original objective to heal the ozone layer. But it didn’t stop there. Because CFCs and related gases are also super climate pollutants, phasing them out has reduced the climate problem by an amount that would have equaled the contribution of carbon dioxide today – more than half of all warming – with the Kigali amendment adding even more climate protection. – Durwood Zaelke, President, Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development
Bright Future Antara Banerjee and her colleagues at the Colorado University, with the help of satellite images and data, concluded that change in the wind patters is the result of the layer’s restoration. Banerjee has projected different recovery speed of Ozone layer restoration over different regions. She said that by 2030s the ozone layer in the northern hemisphere mid-latitude will recover its state similar to the 1980s. But the southern hemisphere mid-latitude will take a little longer i.e. around the 2050s to recover. And the polar regions will recover by the 2060s. Even though the Ozone layer has seen some recovery, Climate Change is a potential danger to it. Government and people across the world will have to take more solid steps to preserve a sustainable environment.
The depletion of the ozone layer was primarily produced by human-made chemical compounds. Now, findings prove there is the capacity to heal damaged climate systems if governments act promptly & in coordination to deal with the causes. #climatecrisis https://t.co/2Z7ph8SaAk — SumOfUs (@SumOfUs) March 26, 2020
Curiopedia
Ozone depletion – Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a steady lowering of about four percent in the total amount of ozone in Earth’s atmosphere, and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone around Earth’s polar regions. The latter phenomenon is referred to as the ozone hole. There are also springtime polar tropospheric ozone depletion events in addition to these stratospheric events. More Info
The Montreal Protocol is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on 16th September 1987, entered into force on 1st January 1989, and was last revised in 2016 (Kigali) meeting. The treaty is structured around several groups of halogenated hydrocarbons that deplete stratospheric ozone. All of the ozone-depleting substances controlled by the Montreal Protocol contain either chlorine or bromine (substances containing only fluorine do not harm the ozone layer). Some ozone-depleting substances (ODSs) are not yet controlled by the Montreal Protocol, including nitrous oxide (N2O). More Info
Curated Coverage
Comentários